Seeds of Compassion - Ogden Buddhist Churchogdenbuddhistchurch.org/assets/4_jul-aug.pdf · Heights...

Why Shinran Shonin’s Life Matters ~ As written by Reverend Jerry K. Hirano in the May 2016 issue of Buddhist Thoughts

This, then, is the true teaching easy to practice for small, foolish beings; it is the straightway easy to

traverse for the dull and ignorant. Among all teachings the Great Sage preached in his lifetime, none

surpasses this ocean of virtues. Let the one who seeks to abandon the defiled and aspire for the pure; who

is confused in practice and vacillating in faith; whose mind is dark and whose understanding deficient;

whose evils are heavy and whose karmic obstructions manifold – let such persons embrace above all the

Tathagata’s exhortations, take refuge without fail in the most excellent direct path, devote themselves

solely to this practice, and revere only this shinjin.

Kyogyoshinsho CWS pg. 3

his passage is from the magnum opus written by the founder of our sect of Buddhism, Shinran

Shonin. It highlights who Jodo Shinshu is specifically taught for. I have realized that the person

Shinran Shonin is describing in this passage is me. It is as though when I read this passage it says,

“This, then, is the true teaching easy to practice for Jerry Hirano;” I believe that for one to truly consider

themselves a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist, one must be able to see this also.

This month we will be celebrating Gotan-E (Shinran Shonin’s Birthday). Why should this monk born over

800 years ago be remembered? What have I received from Shinran Shonin’s teachings? Having been born

and raised a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist, it was through Jodo Shinshu that I learned about Buddhism. Within

Buddhism I have found one of the most non-judgmental, compassionate teachings in the history of mankind.

The historical Buddha Shakyamuni has said, “There are 84,000 paths to enlightenment.” What he means

by 84,000 paths is that there is an infinite number of ways to awaken to Truth. Each of us human beings are

individuals; consisting of our own histories and various causes and conditions which make up our lives. We

each have our own stories and truths that make us who we are. Buddhism recognizes that the teachings

must be flexible to encompass so many different viewpoints. There cannot be only one true and real

teaching. Just as there cannot be only one story or history to identify each and every one of us, yet, why is

Jodo Shinshu out of those 84,000 paths the right truth for my life?

The essence of the Buddhist teaching is found within Jodo Shinshu. Jodo Shinshu has enabled me to see

myself as the “foolish being” (Bombu in Japanese). The focus of Amida Buddha’s practice is to enlighten

foolish beings such as myself. I know without a doubt that I am a foolish being, filled with greed, anger,

ignorance; however, I recognize how my life has been blessed and I am alive as a result of the wondrous

compassionate embrace of Amida Buddha, the essence of the relationships that surround me and allow

me to exist. This teaching of the Buddha’s compassion is directed towards the foolish being filled with

T

THE GEPPO

A publication of the Ogden Buddhist Temple July/August 2016 Issue

155 North Street Ogden, UT 84404 801/392-7132

P.O. Box 3248 Ogden, UT 84409 Temple President: Thomas F.

Supervising Reverend: Rev. Jerry Hirano Minister’s Assistant: Annette K.

Rev. Hirano contact info: Office – 801-363-4742 Annette’s Emergency Contact – (omitted online)

Home – 801-299-8727

Emergency – 801-819-2648 Minister’s Assistant: Geoffrey R.

NEW Web Site: ogdenbuddhistchurch.org Minister’s Assistant: James A.

Temple E-mail: [email protected] Junior Minister’s Assistant: Charles A.

Reverend Hirano’s article continued on next page.

greed, anger and ignorance resonates with the truth I have found in my life. Jodo Shinshu has shown me

my life is not about just me, the foolish being, but in the relationships the world has given me. The words,

the terminology, the rituals, the traditions all resonate with who I am. This is why I am Jodo Shinshu

Buddhist. I hope that the members of our Sangha will all be able to feel gratitude for the teachings of this

our teacher Shinran Shonin.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

I Hope you are all doing well this summer.

This year’s Obon Odori Festival is July 16th. Food sales will be held from 4:00 through 6:30 pm, Taiko’s first

performance begins at 7:30 pm, and dancing begins at 8:00 pm. Please note Obon Dance practice in calendar.

Obon, Hatsubon and July Shotsuki Hoyo service will be held at the Church on Sunday, July 17 at 1:30 pm.

Before service, gravesite visits will precede at the Syracuse cemetery at 10:30 am, followed by Washington

Heights at 11:00 am, and concluding at the Ogden cemetery at 11:30 am. The BWA will serve lunch after the

gravesite visits and prior to service.

The Obon weekend requires a lot of effort so any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

We’ll have outside church clean-up the previous Sunday (10 July) at 8:00 am and Obon food preparation days

will be July 14 and 15 beginning at 6:00 pm. If you have any questions regarding how you can help, contact

Annette K., Ruth S. or myself.

In Gassho,

Thomas F.

BWA NEWS

Greetings from the Ogden BWA …

Thanks to everyone who supported us with our annual sushi fundraiser May 15th. A big thank you to the

BWA ladies that came out to help prepare and assemble the sushi, it always “takes a village” for

fundraisers and it is greatly appreciated.

The next big event is the Obon Festival, can’t believe it is time already! The BWA will be making and

selling Manju. Any help will be welcome. The schedule is as follows for anyone that wants to come

and help:

Yaki Manju, July 2nd @ 9:00am

Fukashi and Mochi Manju, July 10th @10:am

We also will be making a quilt to raffle off at the Bazaar in October, we will be starting this after our

next meeting on August 21st @ 10:00am.

Thanks again for all the support and have a great summer and see you at Obon!

Ogden Buddhist Church GEPPO July/August 2016 Issue

More BWA news continued on next page.

GEPPO ~

BWA DONATIONS

(Omitted for Online Version)

DHARMA SCHOOL NEWS Superintendent Message

In May, we honored our new Dharma School student,

Aleigha, during our Hatsumairi (infant presentation) on

May 15th during the Gotan-E service. We are excited to

have a new Dharma School baby!

The Dharma School hosted the Salt Lake Temple

Dharma School for our annual Lagoon Day on June 5th.

The boys and dads especially enjoyed riding the new

Cannibal ride. We appreciate everyone who attended

and contributed musubi and salads. Our thanks to Kris

and Steve Y. and Betty and Kirk Y. for making all the

food arrangements, bringing all the equipment and drinks

for this great annual event. And, thanks to Betty Y. for dealing with all the tickets sales. Our

appreciation goes out to Stan and Tami H. for picking up and getting the chicken into the park for all

the hungry kids and parents. Over 50 kids and parents attended the event, and everyone had a great time.

On Sunday, June 12th, we honored our graduates at our last Dharma School service for the school year.

We are so proud of Brandon T., our high school graduate this year. Brandon graduated from Syracuse

High School, a member of the Jr. ROTC program. Brandon has enlisted in the US Air Force and will

start basic training at Lackland AFB, TX, this summer. We are truly going to miss Brandon’s smile and

his willingness to help anyone and with anything at the temple. Congratulations, Brandon!

Our college graduates this year are Daley Y. and Trenton Y.,

both graduating from the University of Utah.

Daley Y. graduated from the University of Utah School of

Architecture and Planning with her BS in Multi-Disciplinary

Design. Daley has designed a multi-functional toy, beneficial to

help the development of fine motor and cognitive skills in

children with different impairments, learning the same skills.

Congratulations to Daley, and we look forward to hearing more

great things as she establishes her career!

More Dharma School news continued on next page.

GEPPO –


Trenton Y. graduated from the University of Utah, David Eccles School of Business, with his BS in

Accounting. Trenton completed internships with Northrop Grumman and Grant Thornton’s Denver

office this past year. Trenton is already working on his master’s degree at the University of Utah. He

has already accomplished much, and we look forward to seeing more of his great business career

accomplishments!

In addition to the graduates, we honored our Dharma School

students with attendance awards. Congratulations to

Madison Y. and Andrew K. for achieving perfect

attendance this year. Also, our congratulations to Marlene

H. for achieving an attendance award, just missing one day

during the 2015-16 Dharma School year.

For our temple project for the year, the Dharma School

students and parents will be painting the multi-purpose room

stage. On June 12th, we prepped the stage before Dharma

School service. On Saturday, June 25th, we invite all temple

members to come out to help do the actual painting, starting at 9 a.m.

As we wind down the Dharma School year, we want to thank Annette K., minister’s assistant, for all

she does to pull off our Dharma School services, week after week, doing all the behind the scenes

coordination and organization so we can conduct service each week. This year, she organized a large

mandala project for our students. (Her article will be coming in the next GEPPO! Look forward to it!)

She is amazing!

I want to thank the Sangha for helping out with another successful school year for our kids. All of our

parents are so great, stepping up to help out with planned and unplanned events. We are a relatively

small Sangha. However, since returning to the Ogden temple, I have been very surprised to see how

much activity occurs at our temple. I am grateful to all of you for helping out for the benefit of our kids,

the future of our temple.

In Gassho,

LaVerne K.

Dharma School Donations

(Omitted for Online Version)

More Dharma School news continued on next page.

GEPPO ~



Dharma School

June Birthday’s!

Brandon T.

Marlane H.

GEPPO ~

Reminder: Summer Lawn Mowing Schedule

Date Scheduled People

July 3, 2016 Tom F., Stan H., Alex H.

July 10, 2016 Obon Outdoor Clean-Up – Everybody pitch in!

July 17, 2016 Obon Service – Mow lawn after service

July 24, 2016 James A., Charles A., Geoff R.

July 31, 2016 Mike K., Todd H., Roland S.

August 7, 2016 Steve K., Blaine Y., Bart H.

August 14, 2016 Kirk Y., Trenton Y., Steve Y.

August 21, 2016 Tom F., Stan H., Alex H.

August 28, 2016 James A., Charles A., Geoff R.

A Special THANK YOU From our Treasurer, Betty Y.

It is amazing to see how our members and non-members support our temple! If it was not for the

generosity of each of you, our temple could not survive! Our recent YARD SALE was a complete

success! We made about $1,400.00 for our temple!

A special THANK YOU to Mitzie T. for cleaning out her house and making a huge donation to our

church. Also, thank you to Kathy W. for obtaining the “Queen of Yard Sales” title and helping to

facilitate this event.

Every little bit helps! On behalf of myself and the board,

GEPPO ~


HAPPY 90TH BIRTHDAY! YOSHIE Y.

We hope all your birthday wishes come true!

In Memory

The Ogden Buddhist Temple Sangha extends its deepest sympathies

to the families of the following member who recently passed away.

May the family members find solace and comfort in the Nembutsu.

Namo Amida Butsu

Yoshiko Yokota - May 10, 2016

OBON DONATIONS NEEDED

It is time again for the board to ask our members is they can help! Obon is a very important part of our heritage

and tradition! However, it takes a lot of people working together to make each Obon even better than the last!

We welcome any help as we prepare for this huge event! Please feel free to come anytime to help! There is

always a job that needs to be done! If you can help us by offsetting some of the costs of Obon, it makes a big

difference! If you are able to donate any of the following items, please let any board member know.


GEPPO ~

3 - 1 gallon bottles soy sauce

2 - 5 gallon buckets soy sauce

3 - large bottles Yoshida Sauce

2 - 25 pounds sugar

2 - large boxes salt

3 - large bottles Mirin

1 - gallon bottle Seasoned Rice Vinegar (green label)

1 56-oz Toasted Sesame Oil

30 Cans Spam

6 - Double-pack Somen Noodles

8 - 20 pound bags rice

1 - large box Dashi No Moto

5 - Costco size bags Edamame

2 boxes Small sized gloves

2-6 boxes Medium sized gloves

2-4 boxes Large sized gloves

2 - Costco-size bottles vegetable oil

Cash donation to offset the cost of meat

GEPPO ~


OBON SERVICE

Sunday, July 1, 2016

Cemetery Service Schedule:

10:30 am Syracuse

11:00 am Washington Terrace

11:30 am Ogden

12:00 pm Otoki Lunch

1:30 pm Obon / Hatsubon Service

July Shotsuki Hoyo

This special service is held on the Sunday following the Obon Festival. This memorial

service is held in dedication and gratitude for all the members of our Sangha who have died

over the previous year. Its basis is the same as our Obon Festival. Kangi-E is the name used

traditionally in our Jodo Shinshu Tradition. This name represents the joy we feel for Amida

Buddha's vow to save all sentient beings and the joy in knowing our deceased Sangha

members are likewise embraced in that compassion.


GEPPO ~

July Shotsuki Hoyo July 17, 2016 at 1:30 p.m.

Obon and Hatsubon Memorial Service

July 17, 2016 at 1:30 p.m.

GEPPO –

July Shotsuki Hoyo

Corrections/Additions to the Shotsuki Hoyo list, please contact Ruth Schriock, 801-292-6042

For those years not having a specific memorial service such as 2nd, 4th, 5th, etc. the temple is holding these

monthly Shotsuki Hoyo. During these services, the temple will list the names of those members who have died

during the month in the preceding years.

The families then attend that monthly service in memory of their loved one.

These services are not meant to replace the specific memorial services. Please contact Rev. Hirano to make

arrangements for those services. Rev. Hirano contact information:

Office: 363-4742, Home: 299-8727,

Emergency: 819-2648.

2016 Memorial Service Schedule for those who passes away in:

2015 – 1 year 2004 – 13 year 1982 – 33 year

2014 – 3 year 2000 – 17 year 1967 – 50 year

2010 – 7 year 1992 – 25 year 1917 – 100 year

July 21 2012 Ryuji Dick Hirasuna

July 7 1990 Bessie Toki Hokoda

July 22 1995 Mito Imaizumi

July 17 1961 Kantaro Inouye

July 10 1977 Kinshiro Itakura

July 5 1984 Yuki Kawashima

July 3 1982 Reiko Koga

July 3 1982 Shigeru Sam Matsumura

July 28 1986 Taki Mayeda

July 12 1977 Manji Miya

July 6 1977 Kichiro Morimoto

July 20 1965 Monkichi Murakami

July 1 1995 Sam Sunao Nagata

July 1 1977 Bukatsu Nakahara

July 30 2010 Jack Nisogi

July 14 1991 Tome Sakiyama

July 25 2015 Roy Hideo Shiki

July 25 2004 Emma Yayoi Stewart

July 7 1971 Heibei Sugimoto

July 3 1984 John N. Takabayashi

July 8 1982 Tome Taura

July 30 1999 Minoru Watanabe

July 23 2005 Lily Watari

July 10 2007 Tomio Yamada

July 22 1986 Hiroshi Yamasaki

July 17 2004 Seiichi Yei


This memorial service is held in

dedication and gratitude for all the

members of our Sangha who have died

over the previous year.

Hatsubon observance will be held for the

following members:

Roy Hideo Shiki

Sam Osamu Yamamoto

Yuriko Inouye

Scott Harada

Yoshiko Yokota

AUGUST Shotsuki Hoyo will be observed in September

The Ogden Buddhist Church is selling “Memorial Lanterns” for our OBON Festival.

You can purchase a lantern in the name of family or friends that are no longer with us.

Your lantern will be personalized with their name and hung on the Yagura during the OBON Festival.

This is a GREAT way to pay tribute to your ancestors and to watch them “DANCE” right alongside of you!

Obon Memorial Lantern Order Form

You can purchase a lantern to honor a friend or family member that has passed away.

The lantern will be personalized and hung from the Yagura during the OBON Festival. You will be given the lantern at the completion of OBON.

YOUR NAME: ____________________________________ Total Amount Due: $________________

In MEMORY of: (Please PRINT first and last names below)

___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

OBON MEMORIAL LANTERNS

Lanterns are $5.00

per name

Please fill out this form and

return it to Ellen K. or any board member.

You can also mail this form with your payment to:

Ogden Buddhist Church

P.O. Box 3248 Ogden, UT 84409

GEPPO –

Toban Cleaning Group:

Obon Cleaning Committee

1 7:00 p.m.

Obon Dance Practice

2 9:00 am

BWA Manju making

3 No Service

4

5 6 10:00 a.m. Buddha’s

Round Table

7:00 p.m. Obon Dance

Practice

7 8 7:00 p.m.

Obon Dance Practice

9 Salt Lake

Obon Festival

10 No Service 9:00 am – Obon Yard Clean-Up 10:00 am – BWA Manju Making

11 7:00 p.m.

Obon Dance Practice

12 7:30 pm

OBC Board

Meeting

13 10:00 a.m. Buddha’s

Round Table

7:00 p.m. Obon Dance

Practice

14 6:00 pm

Obon Prep

15 6:00 pm

Obon Prep

16 Ogden OBON

Festival 4 – 10 pm

(Prep at 9:00 am)

17 Syracuse Cemetery – 10:30 am Washington Heights Cemetery – 11:00am Ogden Cemetery – 11:30 am Obon Lunch – 12:00 pm Obon Service – 1:30 pm

18 19 20 10:00 a.m. Buddha’s

Round Table

21 22 23

24 25 26 27 NO

Buddha’s Round Table

28 29 30

31

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

July 2016


GEPPO – Page 14

Toban Cleaning Group:

Tom & Marcie F. (Toban Cleaning Leader)

Steve & Ellen K.

Christy K.-F.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3

10:00 a.m. Buddha’s

Round Table

4 5 6

7 No Service

8 9 7:30 pm

OBC Board

Meeting

10 10:00 a.m. Buddha’s

Round Table

11 12 13

14 No Service

15 16 17 10:00 a.m. Buddha’s

Round Table

18 19 20

21 No Service 10:00 am – BWA Meeting

22 23 24 10:00 a.m. Buddha’s

Round Table

25 26 27

28 No Service

29 30 31 10:00 a.m. Buddha’s

Round Table


GEPPO – Page 15

August 2016

*JACL Credit Union

Volleyball Tournament*

The information that follows is included in the GEPPO as a courtesy of the Interfaith Works.

Ogden Buddhist Church GEPPO May/June 2016 Issue

GEPPO – Page 16

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